Phantom Descendants
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: Aoko finds out more about her mother then she ever realized. The new awareness makes her seek out the only person who can answer her questions. Kaitou Kid. Her world is turned upside down and she isn't who she thought she was anymore.
1. A Ghost from the Past

This idea came for AkemiXChan since I have run out.

HAVE FUN!  
This is my first time writing anything long (not a one shot) for Aoko's perspective  
(though not first person) so please tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Magic Kaito or Detective Conan characters. Too bad.

* * *

_**Chapter 1: A Ghost from the Past**_

Aoko was walking back home from the grocery store. Her dad was going to be home tonight and he'd missed dinner the night before because he was chasing that stupid thief again. It made her dad happy though and he always had lot of energy to spare afterwards. She'd made him do the dishes when he'd gotten back so that she could finish her homework.

Aoko fumbled around with some of the grocery bags in her hand. She'd bought more then she thought she was going to, otherwise she would have forced Kaito to come along.

"Careful there!" A woman off to her side reached out a hand before the bag resting on the outskirts of her grip managed to topple over.

"Thank you," Aoko inclined here head to the woman. She was beautiful, maybe in her late thirties but she still held the air of childhood around her. Black flowing hair ran down her back and she smiled at the teen.

"You're very welcome." The woman was about to walk away but something made her stop and, since Aoko was walking in the same direction, she had to stop as well or risk bumping into her when she couldn't see in front of her.

"What's your name little girl?"

_Little? _Aoko thought indignantly. Her anger was squashed down by sudden uneasiness as she debated whether or not to answer.

"You're Koyuki's daughter aren't you?" the woman asked with a growing smile at Aoko's speechless response.

"Yeah, that was my mom's name," she said numbly. She hadn't known much about her mother. Her mom had died only two years after she was born and there wasn't much a two year old could remember.

"I knew it! You look just like her!" The woman took some of the bags so they could have a conversation face to face.

"Did the police ever find out who killed her?"

Aoko almost dropped everything.

_Killed her? Her dad told her that her mom died in a car accident._

"I'm sorry," the woman frowned. "I didn't realize that – I'm sorry, I won't say anything more."

"What made you think my mom was killed? She died in an accident."

The woman shook her head. "I guess it's okay if I told you now. Your mother isn't around to stop me." The woman clenched her hands together with and evil smile on her face. "And I owe that woman a lot. If it weren't for her I would have got my hands on the Kid instead before he fell into that other woman's gasp."

Aoko frowned and backed away. This woman was crazy.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again when she noticed the distance that the girl had put between them. "Let me start at the beginning. My name is Takamia Rei. What's yours?"

"Aoko," she told her quietly. Even if this woman claimed to know her mother she wasn't about to give out her last name to her when she'd already started acting weird.

"Ok Aoko-chan." Rei grinned at her. "I met your mother years ago. We went to school together. I have to say, you look like her clone. Whoever your father is didn't give you any of his genes. Anyway, like I said, we grew up together. She was always the one better at sports, better on tests and better at just about everything. It gets me mad just remembering it." The woman clutched her fist in her hand.

"That was then. Kaitou Kid came on the news when we were in our last year of school and your mother had this insatiable urge to go and see him. She finally got me to agree with her and we snuck out one night together."

Aoko watched as the woman's eyes glassed over and she developed a faraway look of longing. "We met the Kid, believe it or not. He came right down to us." The look faded. "And he started talking to your mother like I wasn't even there! It was like they already knew each other. To make everything worse Ginzo and Toichi would tease me every day about falling in love with the thief. I couldn't help it!"

"Um, what's this have to do with my mother?" Aoko spoke up.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," she waved her off. "I noticed that Koyuki wasn't around when the Kid had his heists anymore and I started getting suspicious. Then, a few months later, there's word of this "Phantom Lady" who's been going around stealing from large company owners who were embezzling and the like. What the thief did with the money no one knows. She wouldn't take much but it was still stealing and she made a big show of it, as if she was rivaling the Kid, and that got me mad. When I spoke to Koyuki about the thief's actions and her own absence, your mother finally spilled the beans and told me it was her."

"My mother was a thief?"

"Yeah," Rei sighed. "And I can't say she was that bad at it either. She and the Kid both made news for years afterwards and I stopped keeping tabs on her. I heard she was killed off by someone who didn't want her associating with Kaitou Kid. There'd been a rumor going around that she was giving the money to him."

Aoko tried to get a lock on the information but it fell apart like wet tissue paper. There was no way her mother could have been a thief. No way that she would do something bad enough that someone killed her. No way she could have been helping the Kid when her father had been tracking him down since he started the force after graduating.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Rei noticed the girl's expression. "I can't say I blame you for not trusting me. Ask your dad, I'm sure that whoever she married would have noticed that she didn't die in a simple accident."

* * *

Aoko hurried home quickly. She needed to at least know if her mother's accident wasn't something more then what she was told. Her father would be there and he couldn't escape her.

The teenage girl placed the bags down as gently as she could with the fear and apprehension running through her.

_The woman was lying, _she told herself over and over again. And yet Rei had been able to pick her out of a crowd. She knew her mother's name. Why?

Her father was sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette and watching the TV report on the heist last night. Kid had gotten away – again – with a large, multifaceted sapphire that had been on display for less than a week when it caught the thief's eye. It had yet to be returned but her father didn't look worried.

"Dad" she started, harsh tone already in play since she didn't want to be drowned out by the reporter. Her father knew right away that she was either going to start an argument or try to talk him into something.

"What is it?" He hit mute but didn't turn off the screen.

"How did mom die?"

Ginzo frowned and turned to his daughter, not expecting this conversation again. "She was in a car accident. The person driving the other vehicle didn't see her pull out in front of him and he wrecked both cars. Your mom was in the hospital for four days before she gave up." He closed his eyes. "Strong woman. The medics were surprised that she'd even made it to the hospital, let alone survived for so long."

"Did the other driver hit her on purpose?"

This time Ginzo's frown disappeared into a neutral glare, leaving him staring at the television screen without seeing it. "I thought he did. I had all the men I could get looking into it but we never found the man. After hitting your mom and totaling both cars he took off. We tried to trace the car but it was impossible."

"Does that normally happen? Wouldn't he have to have left some trail behind… unless he was planning on hitting mom?"

Ginzo remained silent while he thought of what to tell her. Aoko was old enough now that keeping things from her would only hurt her more when she had time to look into them on her own.

"I think that it was done purposely," he growled. "There weren't any witnesses and no trail, so I can't get the bastard. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before but you were young. I didn't know what was right. It was just like with -" Her father cut himself off. He was not going to get into his suspicions on Toichi's death as well. "Well, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"I understand" she said quietly. It could be true. What that woman said now had lit a spark under her. If she was telling the truth, everything that Aoko – everything that her father thought about her mother – it was all a lie.

* * *

Aoko was morbidly depressed for the next few days, unable to come to grasps with the reality that rose up around her. It was so wrong that she found herself crying alone at night, wondering what could have made her mother go so far for a criminal. _Far enough to become one herself,_ her inner voice would tell her hatefully. That was far, especially when she put her father into the equation.

Kaito noticed that she'd been down lately but he didn't say anything until they received a test they'd taken at the beginning of the week and Aoko was left in the sixtieth percentage of the class. He waited until after class to say anything.

"Hey Aoko, what's been eating at you lately?" Kaito asked her with what should have been worry but was masked to resemble boredom.

Aoko couldn't answer him. Her mother was someone her father had spoken so fondly about. To have someone you looked up to so much… someone you loved… Aoko was terrible at analogies but she couldn't hold in her frustration any longer.

"Kaito," she knew there were tears in her eyes but she pushed them back with her anger. "How would you feel if one day I told you your father was Kaitou Kid?"

Aoko winced. Couldn't she have been more vague? She'd used the other thief's name because it was the only other well known criminal who'd gotten away as often as her mother had and, hearing his name recently, made it so that it was the only thing that popped into her head. On top of that, like Aoko lost her mother Kaito had lost his father – A loved one who was gone and couldn't give her answers. She covered her head with her hands, feeling like she's given away her mother's secret to her best friend.

The magician was torn between gaping and her and bursting out laughing. Aoko had hit so close to the bone and she didn't even know it. Unbidden memories of the night he found out about his father came to him but he washed them away. Having to have some output for his emotions he settled on a few nervous chuckles.

"Aoko, what brought this up?"

"Oh no!" Aoko let some of the tears out now when she realized what she'd done. "I didn't mean to say that your father would ever do something like that! I can't believe I even implied it." She looked at her friend for any hurt feelings she might have caused him but she also knew she wouldn't find any even if she had hurt him. Kaito was good at making sure she couldn't see that type of reaction and it only made her cry more, wishing that her friend didn't need to do that.

"That's alright!" He tried to comfort her to stop her tears. Everyone had left the room and they were alone. "If my dad was the Kid, I'd have to ask him why he hasn't been home in ten years." The magician gave her a lopsided grin, hoping his efforts were doing something for her. "Then I'd probably yell at him for not telling me. I'm such a big fan of the Kid after all."

"But what if you weren't" she sobbed, trying to get an answer without hurting him. Aoko needed some type of support, something – "What if your father was someone that you couldn't like? What if he was a bad guy?"

In desperation as to what it was she wanted from him, the magician answered her – truly thinking on her question. He hated murderers the most and what would he do if his father was a murderer?

"I'd be mad" Kaito answered frankly. "If my dad did something that I couldn't stand, I would be very mad. I'd want to know why. Once I found out, then – depending on the answer I got I can't say what I'd do." Kaito was tempted to cheer her up with one of his pranks but he could tell this wasn't the time. He'd always been tactful, something that came from his father. The magician laid a reassuring hand on her back as Aoko cried over her desk with her face hidden in her hands. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Aoko wiped the tears away. Kaito was right for once, she needed answers. She had to know why. When Rei spoke to her the other day, the woman seemed just as clueless on her motives as the daughter was.

She thought for a second on who she could ask and only one name came to mind. Her father didn't know and, if he was out of the loop then so were all of her mother's acquaintances. That only left one person that she'd been associated with before her death. One person that it seemed she had died helping.

Aoko's heart started to speed up. She didn't know if she would have the reserve she needed to speak to Kaitou Kid without getting upset. The man had all but stuck his nose into her life and refused to leave, which was bad enough, but if he was also the reason that her family was broken, it would hurt too much to stay quiet.

Kaito was brushed off as Aoko got her schoolbag off the floor and walked away without another word to him. She had nothing to say and she didn't want to lie to him. They'd been friends for too long for her to do that.

With new resolve she clenched her fist and prepared herself for the next heist that Kid would pull off.

She would be there and, like it or not, he was going to give her the answers she needed.


	2. All for Naught

_**Chapter 2: All for Naught**_

Aoko's heart was beating so fast that she wasn't sure how she managed to keep breathing. She wasn't nervous about seeking out the thief, if anything she'd wanted to do it before now, to tell him he's an idiot for making her dad run around in circles when he returns everything in the end.

No, Aoko's heart was racing because she was afraid of what she could hear. She was afraid that the gaudy thief was going to confirm all her fears and she would have no good memories left of the mother that she'd come to idolise through the stories she'd been told.

She was afraid that his answers would only tear their family further apart. She wouldn't be able to keep this secret from her father.

"Aoko what are you still doing here?" her dad asked when he caught sight of her. Aoko let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled at him.

"Nothing, I thought I'd head home later. It's really nice out tonight."

And it was. The thief had picked on of the most beautiful nights of the year. The officers were bathed in moonlight and, for once, the city couldn't blot out of light of the stars that shown determinedly in the sky.

The item that Kaitou Kid was after was a small cement statue resting as the center piece of a large fountain in the middle of some rich man's yard. The statue itself was of a traveling medicine man with rubies inlaid in its eyes, making it seem demonic, and Aoko had to wonder who would want a thing like that.

Another question was how she was going to get the Kid alone. There were so many officers that the thief was unlikely to stop and answer her questions while they cuffed him.

A few tears slid down her face. She really was hopeless. Why would Kid even take time to talk to her if the police _weren't_ around? She was nothing special and a phantom thief would have more important things to do.

Squashing down her despair, Aoko went outside the boarder of officers so that she'd be ready to run in any direction that thief chose to escape in, without getting in anyone's way.

The minutes passed agonizingly slow as she waited. Her father busied himself by checking that everything they could put up in defense was ready.

Aoko felt something in her heart give in joy before it constricted again when Kaitou Kid somehow emerged with a gush of flowing water from the fountain.

"Hello gentlemen," he greeted them easily. The thief was too high for any of them to take down so the officers below him sneered while trying to find something they could do to get him down.

Kid 'tutted' them and waved a finger. "You shouldn't be so angry on such a beautiful night. You see?" He gestured around him while a thousand tiny lights seemed to be raining down from the sky. "You're making the stars cry."

It really was beautiful, the magic that he was pulling off right in front of her. It looked like it was snowing down stars. Aoko shook her head, clearing it of such distracting thoughts. She needed to talk to him.

"Kid! Knock off the crap!" Aoko heard her father scream up at the man.

Kaitou Kid smiled in return and, with both hands out at his sides and a huge grin on his face, he looked down upon them. "Very well then Inspector. I suppose it is time I got going."

The water surged up and around him, blocking the thief from view. Aoko's hopes were dashed as she realized there was no way that she was going to be able to find him. If the police hadn't been able to, how come she had thought she'd had a chance?

"How can you just leave?" Aoko shouted, tears falling down her face. The officers near her had already run forward so no one was around to see her cry. Without waiting for a response, since the wind could give none, she walked away without waiting for her father.

Hurrying down the street, Aoko ran into a boy older then her, falling over because of his larger size.

"Hey!" He yelled down at her on the floor. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry!" Aoko apologized. _Jerk._

Aoko felt happy when the anger took her over. It buried her disappointment somewhere so she didn't have to feel it. The tears were impossible to stop as the new emotions made them bitter.

"Disappointed to see me leave?"

The voice hadn't been what had drawn her attention to the figure. The swirl of white glistened, a casted off shine from a nearby street lamp gave off that flashed across Kid's outfit as he rested on bench in the middle of the park, looking as if he didn't care who saw him there.

The few people that did pass gave him strange glances but no one stopped longer than a few seconds.

It occurred to her that no one believed that the man sitting there was really Kaitou Kid. It was too – normal.

For once Aoko was happy to see the thief, and she knew it was him because he'd referenced her presence from earlier. The smile that spread across her face made her wonder about her mental health. This man, though generous in his ventures, was a criminal, and from what she'd heard from her father, a womanizer as well. She should have been cautious but there were too many questions that she needed to have answered with no idea how long the man would be complacent enough to stay.

Aoko rushed over to the bench and sat beside him with her hands reaching out towards him on the seat. For a split second her brain wondered how he'd kept his suit dry with all that water he'd been flinging around.

At the angle Kid kept his hat, it made it impossible for Aoko to see his face.

"Please tell me, who- who was my mother?"

Aoko couldn't see any movement in response to her question. If anything the thief has stilled himself.

"What makes you think I would know who your mother is? I scarcely even know who you are." The soft purr that accompanied his words was almost enough to make Aoko understand how people could fall for a criminal. He had a very nice voice.

"My mom's name was Koyuki, someone – someone told me that you knew her. That she was -" Aoko couldn't say the word, couldn't admit to her mother being a bad person. "I want to know the truth. I need to know."

Kid sat very still, even his breathing was hidden under his coat. To the world he looked as if he were dead.

"If I have any answers to give you, I can't reveal them to you now. I have somewhere to be and little time to get there. If it's that important to you, find me again."

Kid stood up. If Aoko would have blinked, she would have missed it. Before he could vanish off into the night like he always did, Aoko wanted some condolence, a simple yes or no if he would indulge her.

"Couldn't you at least tell me if you knew her?"

"Not tonight." Kid tipped his hat and walked behind one of the large oak trees without reappearing. Aoko knew he was gone.

"Damn it!" she cried to herself. He just _left._ She didn't get any of the answers she wanted and he had been right _there. _It infuriated her and the old anger she'd been accustomed to feeling when his name came up returned.

He was no gentleman. He was just a con artist, a thief.

Why should she go looking for him again?

* * *

Kaito tore off his clothes with enough force to knock over several stacked up boxes.

_What the hell was that about? _

He'd been afraid when he'd caught a glimpse of Aoko as he was leaving, and her presence startled him enough for him to stick around after he'd gotten the statue, long enough to hear her shout out about the unfairness his departure.

Kaito had noticed that she'd been acting strangely at school but Aoko was a girl and girls were prone to sudden changes in mood. He'd seen his mother go from laughing to crying in three minutes flat when she was watching a movie. Girls were hard to understand.

So he'd gone looking for her afterwards. It was bad enough that he made her cry at school, having Kid make her cry would be even worse because he had no way of remedying it. That meant he had to go after her.

Her sudden energy and need to be near his other persona scared the hell out of him, and Kaito had been ready to jump off the bench and run for the hills. Aoko seeking out Kid, wanting to talk to him, was just so wrong that Kaito couldn't find words for it.

And then she started asking those questions.

It had Kaito thinking. There was something obviously upsetting her about her mother. For some reason it seemed like Aoko had thought the Kid would know something about it and that left his mind free to wonder what it was that Aoko assumed her mom had done.

He couldn't give her any answers because _he _didn't know. If Kid had, at one point, met Aoko's mother, he wouldn't know about it. His father was long dead so he had to go to Jii to see if the answers to both their questions lie there.

With a swift goodbye to his mom he made his way down the street. It was after eleven but he didn't wait for a response from her. If she didn't bring up any questions when he went missing at all hours of the night, as some teens would, then he didn't feel like explaining it to her now. The night was warm and Kaito wore only a light blue t-shirt and a pair of black pants. In the moonlight he blended into the sky and trees too well for his wardrobe to seem as thrown together as it was.

"Jii-chan," Kaito knocked on the door of the Blue Parrot. "Jii-chan it's me."

Kaito knew the man closed up at ten but he lived right above the shop and would stay downstairs reading a book or watching the television for hours, especially when he had a heist planned, so Kaito knew he'd be heard.

"What is it young master?" the old man asked, peering at him through round, black glasses.

"I need to talk to you," Kaito kept his voice light so that the man wouldn't worry about his health. After all, this was nothing serious, just the peace of mind of his best friend.

"Come in then. By your tone I'm sure this isn't a conversation you want the neighbors to hear."

Kaito made his way inside and into the back room where there was a couch and television. He slumped into the couch before quickly righting himself and staring at the man as he followed the teenager in.

"Jii-chan I need to know if Aoko's mother was ever involved with dad."

Jii frowned. "Her mother? I don't think I've ever seen her."

"Are you sure? Aoko looked damn near hysterical when she was demanding answers from me. Stupid girl." Kaito let out a breath and lounged back to let his nerves calm. "She shouldn't get so upset. I – I've never seen her like that before."

Kaito let that sink in. Even if her mother wasn't involved with his dad, he would have to find out what she was mixed up in so that Aoko wouldn't be upset anymore.

"There was a woman once. I never learned her name and your father would meet with her secretly. I don't see how, but that might have been the girl's mother."

"Who was she?" Kaito raised an eyebrow as he watched the older man sit next to him, making the couch slump to the side.

"She was a thief. Your father would visit her every month but refused to tell me who she was. He said it was to keep her safe. One day your father stopped going to their monthly meetings and when I asked why, he simply said that she wouldn't be there so he had no reason to go."

"Do you know when that was?"

Jii shook his head. "I don't remember everything young master and I am getting on in years. The only thing I recall was that it was snowing that day and your father was staring out at it with the saddest look in his eyes."

Kaito swallowed hard. He knew, because Aoko had told him once, that her mother died right before Christmas.

"Tell me everything you know about this woman."

So Jii told him what little information that he had. He told Kaito the woman's allies, that she would give his father money when he needed it, and he told him that the woman had been helping his father look for Pandora.

Kaito's eyes were shadowed with the dark feelings that Aoko was carrying around. If this woman had been her mother and she had found out, it would have hit her hard.

"Is there a chance that this woman was killed?"

"With the way your father would always get this look in his eyes whenever I tried to bring her up, I wouldn't say it was impossible."

"So she died because she was helping dad?"

"I'm not sure young master. I'm sorry but these are questions only your father can answer and he's no longer here to do so. He took your answers with him to the grave."


	3. Riddles within Answers

_**Chapter 3: Riddles within Answers**_

Aoko didn't know how to react at school. Keiko would talk to her but she wouldn't really listen. Momoko would gossip about some attractive looking boy that just transferred but she didn't care. Kaito would even try to cheer her up every now and then but it didn't work.

At one point her classmate decided that, if cheering her up was out of the question, he was hell bent on annoying her.

First Aoko took out one of her pens that exploded into a mess of confetti and streamers when she tried to write with it. Then, after Aoko had gone to the board to write down her answers, she came back to find her desk was bright green. Sitting in it didn't stain her clothes but it caught the attention of her classmates' eyes and they were constantly looking at her.

What finally set her off was when Kaito flew a paper airplane by her face carrying a paper cut out of Kaitou Kid waving to her.

The class bell rang less then a minute later so she was able to take her frustration out on him without disrupting class.

"What do you think you're doing you idiot? Do you know how hard it is to concentrate when you're busy playing tricks on me? Go annoy someone else for once!"

"Ah but Aoko, you looked so sad. I thought I could get you to smile." Kaito grinned. "But seeing you frown is better because your girlish charm disappears, whatever little of it you have, and I feel like I'm messing with one of the guys. It saves my conscience some guilt later."

"Kaito!" Aoko was mad at him but she had no comeback. "Why can't you act like a normal human being?"

"I hope you're not asking why I don't act like you, screaming and the like. You call yourself a normal human being?" He leaned on the back legs of his chair and Aoko took the back of the seat before spilling him onto the floor.

The loud smack his head made when it hit the tile made her cringe. She hadn't meant to hurt him, just embarrass him. The regret she had vanished when Kaito got up as if nothing was wrong and started yelling at her again.

"Geez Aoko, that wasn't nice! It's not like I said anything that wasn't true!"

"Kaito just shut up!"

Aoko hurried out of the room before she started crying. Kaito usually didn't upset her but her emotions were running high these days and she couldn't hold them in like she used to.

* * *

"Damn it!" Kaito swore again, rubbing the back of his head and staring forlornly at the classroom door. He hadn't meant to get Aoko _that_ mad.

After hearing what Jii had said about Aoko's mother, Kaito tried to find out how much of it was true. What he found only made the situation look bleaker.

Aoko's mother had been the Phantom Lady who was helping his dad. Not only that but she would steal money and give it to him when he needed it, for things such as travel fare and the like for his night job. The money he made as a magician went to bills and food and things like that, including whatever he needed as a magician and Kaito's own upbringing. There simply wasn't enough to pay for all the trips and tools he needed.

That meant that Aoko's mother had kept her dealings a secret from her husband.

It wasn't like she was a bad thief. The Phantom Lady only stole from those who were corrupt. Most of her thefts led the police to arrest the people she'd stolen from afterwards, finding proof of their illegal activities thanks to her.

Of course, Aoko didn't seem to care about things like that and the world didn't care about things like that. In their eyes, she was the one in the wrong.

Kaito let his hands fall to his side. He'd also learned that it wasn't an accident that killed her. Like he'd guessed at, she'd been killed because of her connection to his father. Early on Snake tried to enlist his dad into the folds of whomever the man was working for. Dad had refused. To threaten or intimidate him, Kaito had learned that Snake was the one who had killed Aoko's mother.

It made him feel bad but there was nothing he could do about it. Aoko would have to deal with the information on her own, while Kaito tried to show her that it didn't have to ruin her life. He was already out of the question but Aoko didn't have to be burdened with the weight of her mother's actions.

* * *

Aoko stormed off on her own, past the point of trying to sort through her feelings.

Slamming the door open made her father yell at her but she didn't care. How could he be such a good detective and not notice what his wife was doing behind his back?

She felt ashamed for thinking less of her father but it didn't change the feeling. It adding the shame in, like her body was creating a huge stew of all her emotions so that she wouldn't be able to face any of them when it boiled over.

Taking out a text book and throwing it onto her bed, Aoko did the only thing she could do that would take her mind off of life. She studied.

"Honey, what's the matter?" Ginzo opened the door an hour later when he'd heard nothing from his daughter. "You can tell me about it if you want. You know I'm not all that good with emotional stuff but I'm not a statue. I do care."

"I know dad," she smiled at him, closing the book. "I have some things I need to get under control but it's nothing you can help me with."

"Ok then Aoko. I'll be down the hall if you need anything."

"Dad?" she asked as he was about to close the door. "What if you found out something terrible about someone you really cared about? What should you do?"

"Why, what's Kaito-kun done now?"

Aoko laughed. "No it's not him Dad."

"If it was someone I cared about I'd talk things over with them. Make sure that they knew what they were doing was wrong. Then I guess I would forgive them."

"What if it's something so terrible that you can't forgive them?" Aoko swallowed.

"Then I'd forgive them anyway. Aoko you don't chose who you care about, it just happens. If someone I really cared about did something that bad then I would still forgive them because I cared about them, even if they were in the wrong."

Aoko thought about in with new enlightenment. "I guess your right Dad."

"Of course I'm right!" Ginzo smiled at her from across the room. "The many years of wisdom your father has are yours for the taking whenever you need them!"

"Thanks." Aoko looked back down at her text book where a problem had been stumping her for a while now. Everything started clicking away in her brain and even the numbers that looked like a giant mess fell into place. "I know what I have to do now."

* * *

It was funny but Aoko could have sworn the next Kid heist came too quickly. Her father had gotten a notice that morning from Kid, saying that he'd be going after a famous ring with a large green stone set into it. The ring was supposedly worn by the queen and was currently on loan to the museum in Ekoda.

"Strange, Kid usually gives us more warning. It says he's going after it tonight."

The thief couldn't possibly be stealing the ring just so Aoko would have a chance to see him, right? That would be stupid. It wasn't like the thief had paid her any mind before and she'd only seen him two times. Even if he did dote on the girls, there was no way he'd change his plans just so that she'd have the chance to talk to him.

**…**

The museum held more cops then had been present when he'd stolen the statue, long since returned to its owner. The inside and outside were packed so full that Aoko hadn't even gotten to see the ring, let alone get close enough to it that the thief would see her.

She sighed, looking up at the stars that didn't shine as brightly as they had last time. It was like a dark cloth had been placed over them that wasn't attributed to cloud cover.

"It's light pollution."

The voice at her ear made her jump. Looking behind her Aoko saw a man in a dark suit, his build about the same as her father's, and he had bleach hair sticking out of a well-worn hat.

"What?" Aoko blinked, trying to get over her confusion at the man's sudden interest in her.

"You were looking up at the stars and I saw you frown. Light pollution from the earth blots most of them out so you can can't see them as well as you can from the country side."

"Oh, thank you." Aoko didn't know what to do with that piece of information but it did catch her interest.

"I'll see you in a few minutes then." The man winked and her and walked calmly into the museum. Somehow he was able to get past the guards with seemingly no effort.

It took her a few moments to realize that it had been the Kid.

It took five minutes for her to see the normal hysteria that she associated with a heist start to appear. The men outside rushed in, only making it more difficult for the officers already in the building to move around. For several frantic minutes, Aoko was afraid they might catch him and she wouldn't be able to get her answers. It almost made her sick that, for the second time in her life, she was hoping the thief would escape.

"Is something wrong?"

The voice came from behind her again and she smiled, turning to face him.

Aoko was shocked when he was in his white costume instead of the guise of the man. If the police saw him now or of one of the officers saw them together… Aoko didn't want to think of how her dad would react.

A grin crossed the Kid's face and he kept it there as he calmly walked down the street. Aoko followed with rushed footsteps, noticing that the man's legs were longer than hers so it was hard to keep up.

Feeling like an idiot for following the thief anywhere was eating at her. The streets were getting darker and she started to withdraw into herself as fresh fears over the thief's character flowed over her.

"Relax, I'm only here to talk. If you want to leave, feel free."

The glint of a small light behind them flashed off his monocle and Aoko could see nothing but his grin and the split second of blinding light.

"I'm not going anywhere," she told him determinedly, as if to make herself believe that she was strong. It worked. The fear that had been creeping over her vanished and she wasn't sure if it was because of her own words of confidence or his.

They reached an apartment complex and the Kid reached up, grabbing a hold of the emergency stairs before bowing and gesturing a hand towards her. "Ladies first."

Aoko looked up at the tall building where they would be very secluded from the outside world.

"Why do I have to go up there?"

"We could have our little talk in the park again. I'm sure any passers-by would be very interested in why I was talking to you. As for why I chose the roof well… You're never disturbed on a roof."

Aoko folded her hands over her skirt. "And just why do you want me to go first?"

The Kid laughed. It would have scared Aoko but the honest humor in it was enough to disarm any instinctual reactions. "I assure you I meant well. If you would like, I'll go first."

Aoko nodded, blushing.

His footsteps on the latter were so quiet that she had to wonder how the Kid walked around in dress shoes without making more noise than he did. She followed after him, trying hard not to look anywhere except at the metal bars in front of her. An empty feeling started in her gut as she thought of this encounter as betrayal to her father.

She reached the top of the first stairway with seven more to go. The Kid waited patiently until she touched the first landing before starting up the next set of stairs.

"If I'm slowing you down I can meet you at the top," Aoko told him in an angry voice.

"Nonsense. You're not slowing me down and what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't wait for a lady?"

Aoko blushed more. She'd never been called a lady before now.

The latter stopped before it reached the top and the Kid was somehow able to jump up the next level without any help from anything. He lowered his hand to her.

Aoko hesitated. She didn't know what the right thing to do was anymore but she certainly didn't want any physical contact with the thief.

"If you don't grab on it will make this conversation very difficult." The Kid tipped his hat more, realizing that Aoko would be able to see his face as he was looking down at her. She hadn't looked up in time, but even if she had, Aoko couldn't see how she'd be able to identify him better than the police. He'd always come close enough to the officers that they were able to get a glance at his visible features without being able to recognize him.

Giving in because it was either accept his hand or go back home and always wonder, Aoko reached up and cotton brushed against skin. It was strange but Aoko thought she'd felt the same material before. Of course – Even if he was a thief, he was a proclaimed magician and it was natural that he would be wearing gloves best suited for a magician. She'd probably felt them on Toichi before.

The man lifted her gently, being careful not to scrape her body against the brick building. She wouldn't need any help getting down but she felt vulnerable now, when his hands moved under her arms to lift her.

Before she could get up the rest of the way on her own, the thief stood up and pulled. Holding her fingertips in his hands, Aoko pulled away.

"So you're going to talk to me now?"

"I am."

Aoko watched as the Kid's smile lost its shine. Indecisions was written across his features and Aoko frowned. She'd never know the thief to show off such emotions.

"You better not be lying to me!" she warned him.

"I was– I will not lie about your mother." The Kid sat down on the roof with one knee drawn up close to his body and the other leg laying at his side. Aoko took the faint tip of his hand as an invitation to join him.

Tucking her skirt below herself, she kneeled on the ground.

"So you are going to lie to me, just not about my mom?"

"Yes," the Kid's grin returned. "I am a pathological liar after all. Everything I say about your mother will be true. What is it that you want to know?"

"Did you– Did you know her?"

The Kid hesitated before answering. "Your mother and Kaitou Kid were close."

Aoko could only take that to mean that her mother hadn't known who this man was under his costume. Why would she help him then?

"Why did my mother want to help you?"

"Because there-" The Kid shook his head. "This cannot go any further than the two of us. I do not want your father or his colleagues involved."

Aoko looked at the floor but nodded.

"Because," Kid continued after a short silence. "There's something important out there that needs to be stolen and your mother knew it as well."

"Nothing _needs_ to be stolen!" Aoko shouted. "Stealing is wrong and there's no good that comes out of it! How can you say that?"

"If people are willing to kill for it then it deserves to be stolen. Don't you agree?"

Aoko stared daggers at him. "There is no such thing! Don't justify what you do! It's– It's wrong!" She knew she was crying again. Kid didn't make any sense. There were still questions that she needed answers but she didn't understand the ones she got.

"How did my mother die? That's an easy one."

The way Kid took the brim of his hat again to hide his expression from her spoke volumes. "She was killed. I believe you expected as much."

"Was it because of you?"

The silence was long this time.

"Yes it was. If Kid wasn't around, she wouldn't have died."

"You!– You!" Aoko couldn't find the words for what she thought of him. How calmly he just sat there, excepting her hysteria. She stood up and towered over him. Damn him and his indifference to her emotions! Damn him for existing! Damn him.

"You can hit me if you wish. I will not touch you."

_-Anything to make you feel better,_ Kaito thought desperately._ I can't believe how much this is hurting you. I can't let you know about Snake. I can't.-_

She wanted to. Oh how she wanted to. His words stopped her and she felt awful as her feelings of hatred drained out of her again.

"So my mom– and– and you. You are– were– trying to steal something. Because of that she died?"

The Kid simply nodded.

"Then I hope they kill you too!" Aoko shouted at him. She couldn't stand to be mad at him anymore, like there was no reason to, so her confusion turned into a different kind of anger and she had to let it out somehow. She'd look over his answers in her mind another time, when she was calmer. Right now she wanted him to feel at least a portion of her pain. "I hope die!"

Without looking for a response Aoko climbed down the roof and walked home alone down the dark streets.


	4. A Time for Decisions

I wrote this two days ago and just got it corrected. BlinkBlink has posted a story just the other day  
and I noticed how close the two scenes were to each other.

I DID NOT do that on purpose! I haven't even been reading her stories recently!  
NOT TO SAY SHE ISN'T A GOOD WRITTER! I DO like her!

AHhhh! I didn't make them similar on purpose if anyone were to notice. That's all I'm saying.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

_**Chapter 4: A Time for Decisions**_

Aoko stayed up all night crying. Her mother really had been a criminal. It hurt. Her mother had betrayed the person she loved to commit crimes with that– that jerk. Aoko still couldn't understand it and it made the tears impossible to stop.

Some of the things the Kid had told her would float into her conscious mind. He had said that people were trying to kill for what he was after. Gems. There were a lot of people who fought to own gems so she didn't doubt that some would kill for them, but what did him stealing and returning the gems prevent? Nothing.

Her mother had died for that stupid man and his stupid thinking.

How else could his words be taken?

Aoko lay there in her sadness and confusion but sleep never came. The sun rose before she was ready for it and she wanted to remain in the darkness where no one could she how hurt, how broken, she was.

"Aoko, are you awake?"

"I'm not feeling well, Dad." Her voice was sore from crying, so it was a believable excuse.

"Ok then, Honey. Do you need me to stay home?" Her father opened the door to look at his daughter. Aoko quickly hid her face under the sheets.

"No, Dad, it's just a cold."

"I hope you start feeling better. I'll be off then. I'll pick up dinner on the way home for the both of us so you don't have to make anything."

_I don't think I'll ever start feeling better. _"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem. You just get some rest and I'll wake you when I get back."

She heard her door click closed and wished she could tell her dad everything that she'd learned, share her pain with someone who could understand.

Closing her eyes, Aoko let herself fall asleep at last.

* * *

When she woke up it was dark out and her father hadn't returned yet. Aoko got up and made her bed, hoping that following the manual routine she went by when she woke would help snap her out of her depression.

A knock came from her door.

"I'll be out in a minute, Dad" she told him, not bothering to fix her hair or change out of her pajamas. It was more trouble than it was worth and she wasn't going out.

"I'm not your father."

Aoko tensed up and short sobs of breath left her mouth.

"What do you want?" she asked the man on the other side of her door.

"I want you to have all the answers you were looking for. I know I must have confused you the other night and I apologize for that. I came here because it's the place you're most comfortable in and I the least. It should make this continuation of our conversation more to your liking."

He was right, Aoko did feel more comfortable. The feeling that she got whenever he spoke remained, but this was _her_ house and _she_ was the one in control now. If she needed to, her father wasn't far and he could rush back home.

"All right." Aoko looked down at her clothes. _What did it matter what the thief thought of her?_ She told herself. This _was_ her house. She could dress however she liked.

Opening the door, she was face to face with Kaitou Kid for the third time in one week. She'd never seen so much of the man in all her years so his sudden company brought along its own disturbing feelings.

She pushed passed him, heading for the main room. There was a couch there, along with a few chairs and a small wooden table. She sat on the couch and Kid took one of the chairs, looking as uncomfortable as he claimed to be.

"You weren't in school today."

"What?" Aoko asked suddenly. "Why is that any of your business? Were you watching me?"

"No, it was just something that I noticed. You're right; it's none of my concern."

Aoko could swear that the man did look concerned about it. She shuddered, thinking how creepy it was that someone was watching what she was doing.

"Don't follow me!" she warned him.

"I won't," the Kid smirked back. "I told you it was something that was brought to my attention. I wasn't looking for you."

"So, why are you here?"

"To fill in some of the blanks in the answers I gave you the other day. This can't go further than the two of us and I wasn't sure that I could trust you not to relay everything I told you to your father."

"_You_ were afraid you couldn't trust _me?_" The very notion was crazy. _He_ was the thief.

"Forgive me. I usually don't have that problem but I don't want to see you get hurt."

"You don't want to see me get hurt? But you don't seem to care that my mother died helping you and you won't even tell me the truth? You are such a liar!"

"I am not!" The Kid's tone shut her up and she could see that he was looking at her, even if his eyes were cast in shadow from the light above them. "I did not lie about your mother last night. I told you I wouldn't."

"Then explain to me how you stealing and her helping you saved _anyone's_ life? I don't understand it!"

Aoko heard the Kid swallow and look away from her. "Stealing up until this point has saved no one's life except the random people in the cross fire that I've come across. I'm looking for a gem that people are will to kill for. One particular gem. This jewel was the reason your mother died and I have unfortunately been unable to find it as of yet."

"That… makes more sense then it did yesterday." Aoko fiddled with her fingers nervously as she thought about everything she was being told. "Who killed her?"

"I can't say." The openness and vulnerability that Kid had been showing off to her were closed and he was a stranger again.

"You can't tell me who killed my mother?"

"No" he said in a flat tone. "I can't. You can ask me a hundred times and I will not tell you."

"Why? Don't I deserve to know?"

Kid flinched as if her words had hurt him. It was as if he had been in her position and had needed answers as well.

"I'm taking care of it. When I'm done, I'll tell you."

"Taking care of it? What are you doing, looking for the man who did it?"

"Yes."

It was not the answer that Aoko was expecting and it confused her more than ever. This man had told her that her mother had been working with him and had been killed. They were looking for a gem. Now he was saying that he was looking for her killer as well? It wasn't possible for a thief to track down a murderer. He must have sensed her uncertainty.

"When I look for this gem, it brings out the man who killed your mother. When I get the chance," Kid clenched his fist and it occurred to Aoko that, all this time, she had never seen him angry. "I will take the man down. When that happens you can know who he is, until then the knowledge will only put you in danger."

"You didn't seem to mind when it was my mother."

Kid's hand fell limply at his side and it looked like he wanted to tell her something but a noise from the front door made them both jump.

"I'd better be going," the Kid whispered to her, bowing quickly and making his way out of the room as they heard her dad take his shoes off.

"Don't! I'm not done talking with you!" Aoko hissed back. The Kid stopped for a moment before continuing to walk up the stairs where he must have planned to leave out a window. "Then meet me outside. Your father and I will have some words with each other if I stay here."

Then he was gone and her father was coming into the room.

"Aoko, are you feeling better?" he asked, holding out his arms with takeout.

Aoko smiled, "Yeah I am."

"That's good to hear. I was getting worried about you. You've been acting kind of funny for a while. It's a good thing you're feeling well now."

Aoko sat with her father and ate dinner, hoping the thief wouldn't leave. She hadn't had anything to eat all day or she would have put it aside for later.

After finishing up and throwing out the garbage, Aoko told her father that she was going to walk around the neighborhood.

"Don't go too far. It's late and you might run into some bad people."

"Don't worry dad, I'll be safe."

As Aoko closed the door behind her she realized that she hadn't lied to her father. She felt safe around the Kid as if he were a long lost uncle that she'd just discovered.

"You do realize you're still in your night clothes," Kid's voice told her. She was used to it now, so she didn't jump.

"I wasn't planning on leaving the yard, so no one will see me." Aoko walked around the side of her house until they were near the window for the bathroom. Even if her dad went in there, it had glass block windows that you can't see through.

"What more did you need to discuss with me?" The Kid asked, showing his trademark smile for the first time that night.

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you have no trouble involving my mom but you won't tell me?"

"Who says I didn't have doubts about it? Look what happened to her. Do you think I want that happening to you as well?" Kid shook his head. "I prefer you stay in one piece and in the dark on this matter. When this is all over, I'll tell you everything. No more secrets."

"Are you referring to my mom or to you?"

"Both. I'll tell you whatever it is that you want to know. For now, please stay safe and don't go making any trouble."

So when this was over she'd be able to find out who the Kid really was and tell her father. That would even out all the guilt she was feeling for associating with him now. Her father never needed to know about her mom. Another question came up and she wanted to ask it before the Kid left again. She had a feeling that he didn't plan on anymore conversations after this one.

"If my mom went through all the trouble of trying to find this stupid gem with you that you both were trying to keep from some bad guy that I still don't know about, I have to think that she would have cared about you. Did she?"

Kid's tone took on the flatness it had in the house. "We were good friends, even outside of the costume. I feel like you needed the answer since I've already kept the most important one from you, but don't go looking into me."

Aoko nodded. So the Kid had been her mother's friend before everything crazy started happening. From what Aoko had heard, her mother had started stealing before her father became a police man, so it wasn't like she was _trying _to betray him.

Aoko felt happier than she had in days.

"If you need to talk to me," Kid grinned. "You know where I'll be."

Aoko shook her head. "I understand."

There were things she needed to do. Aoko watched as Kid somehow managed to vanish into the shadows, even wearing white. A deep tug at her heart told her what she needed to do now.

* * *

Kid's next heist wasn't until a mouth later and Aoko got her act together. Her school work was where it was supposed to be, her grades were back up, and Kaito was up to his usually pranks without any multicolored desks or exploding utensils.

To the outside observer, it was like everything had gone back to normal.

But inside Aoko was changing and she knew it.

The heist notice that Kid sent told the officers he was after a large diamond, cut in a pear shape with hints of green coloration inside of it. It was flawed but it was still beautiful and still held a high value on the market.

Aoko had everything ready, including a smile. Her heart was racing. Even if it was only once, she wanted to know what her mother found so important in the thief.

Her hair was tied back and there was a white cotton cloth hiding the top of her face, fashioned like a bandana with eye holes cut in. She'd experimented for a while before she found something that hid enough of her features to make her indistinguishable.

The police had overlooked her hiding position several times now which made her laugh. It wasn't funny that the police were so poor at finding her, it was the fact that she was about to do something very unlike herself and it made her giddy.

There was only one way leading in and out of the room where the diamond was and Aoko was in it. Sweat ran down her face but it was easy to ignore the fast beating of her heart. Any minute now.

Kid was as flamboyant as ever in his entrance. Pink smoke erupted out of several different places in the hall and Kid himself fell down from the ceiling, landing with an animal's grace. Aoko was able to leave her hiding space to be lost in the smoke of the hallway.

"Hello, my good police officers!" Kid leaned against the glass case as several officers charged at him only to get a face full of pink smoke as Kid reappeared on the other side of the room, holding the diamond.

The thief took something that looked like a small beach ball in his hand and started throwing it up into the air, with each catch it somehow grew larger and larger until it was impossible for Kid to hold and he threw it into the crowd of policemen.

Confetti rained down on them, along with Kid blow up dolls. The officers looked frantically around but there was so much white it was hard to tell where the thief went.

It reminded Aoko a lot of Kaito and made her feel better about what she was about to do.

Kid ran past her and she was barely able to stop him by grabbing onto his arm. The thief turned around and Aoko could have sworn he looked scared before he realized who was holding him.

"Nakamori-san, what are you doing here?" The thief's eyes darted around the room before he used the arm she was holding him with and dragged her along after him instead.

"No not that way!" Aoko pulled him in the other direction and Kid looked torn between continuing and having her slow him down or following Aoko. In the end he picked the choice that would get them out of there the fastest.

"How'd you know it was me?" Aoko panted as they ran the way she'd wanted them to go when the hall forked.

"What other girl would be stupid enough to dress up like that and come here?"

"That's not nice!" Aoko was mad now. She was helping him and the thief had just called her an idiot. "If I hadn't stopped you, you would have just run into a security net my dad set up!"

"What?" The thief looked back at her and saw she was telling him the truth. "Why are you helping me?"

"I wanted to see what would make my mom want to do it. I haven't figured it out yet." Aoko turned her head away from him and Kid laughed.

"Very well then but you have to stick close to me." Kid's amusement vanished. "Tonight could be dangerous."

"Why?" Aoko asked.

The thief kept running down the halls until they were faced with either a dead end or going up. Kid took out the gem and flashed it to her while he pulled her up the stairs. "This is why. I haven't seen them but that doesn't mean they're not here."

"They? I thought you said it was a man?" Aoko suddenly pictured a group of thugs with crowbars and lead pipes coming up on them and demanding the jewel.

"It was a man who killed your mother, but he doesn't work alone. There are more than one of them. I told you this was dangerous. Why couldn't you stay home?"

They made it to the roof and Kid froze, causing Aoko to run into him.

There was a man there with a gun pointed at him.

Aoko sucked in a breath.

"Run back down the stairs and find your father," Kid whispered to her. "I won't be able to protect you."


	5. A Night Together

_**Chapter 5: A Night Together**_

Aoko stood frozen as a large man in black leveled a gun at them.

"Move!" Kid whispered to her louder. "Don't make yourself a target!"

But Aoko couldn't move. There were five other men behind the man who was currently grinning at them, as if it were amusing that he would be able to kill them if he simply moved his finger. The other men all had guns pointed at them as well.

If Aoko moved now, they would shoot and Kid wouldn't be able to get away.

"Hand it over," the grinning man spoke loud and clearly.

"You don't even know if it's the one you're looking for. Why go to all this trouble?" Aoko watched as Kid put a smile on his face as well. She was close enough to him to see how panicky it was.

"It doesn't matter. If it _is_ what I'm looking for, I'm not going to give you the chance to examine it first. Hand it over."

Kid drew the diamond out of his pocket and flipped it into the air once, catching it in a smooth motion. "What good would it do me to give it to you? You'll shoot anyways."

"I know, but if you give it to me now I'll promise it will be quick. Make me wait and I take back my offer."

"Nakamori-san, do as I told you!" Kid whispered back to her harshly while the man spoke.

"They'll kill you." Her voice was quiet and there was a hint of sorrow in it that she couldn't understand. The thief wasn't anything to her but a nuisance. Even if he had been nothing but good to her since she found out about her mother, his life shouldn't matter anymore than it did before.

But it did, and Aoko couldn't deny it. She didn't want to see him die.

"I won't be killed by the likes of them. I need you to listen to me and leave. Go to your father and don't leave his side. Make sure none of his men come up here or they could get hurt."

Aoko nodded but before she could move the man fired his gun. Kid couldn't risk dodging it or it might have hit Aoko. She heard the thief let out a small scream before falling onto one knee and holding his leg close to his body.

"I told you not to make me wait."

Aoko looked at the guns and frowned. _Even if she had left, there was no way a human could have dodged that many bullets_, the mathematician in her told her. It was a physical impossibility.

"Kid, you were lying to me. You couldn't have gotten away." Aoko knelt down next to him but remained hidden by his body. Even if she cared about him now, that didn't mean she was going to put herself in the way of gunfire for him.

"I told you," Kid grinned, keeping one eye closed in pain as he looked at her. "I'm a pathological liar. So in a way, I didn't lie."

"Hand the gem over and you won't see anymore of me. Of course, that will be because you're dead."

Kid kept looking at Aoko as the man spoke. "You know I'm lying now. Go. The only thing you can do is get hurt too."

"You mean I'll get killed? Don't try and pretty up the situation."

Kid shook his head. "I won't allow you to die. I can make sure you live but you _will_ get hurt. Please leave."

Aoko prepared herself for what she had in mind. "Fine, but you're coming with me."

Without any warning, Aoko pulled the Kid with her down the stairs. For being as old as he was, she was surprised how easy dragging him along with her turned out to be. _Must be adrenaline,_ she told herself.

She heard as the people on the roof fired into the stairway. The bullets missed them by inches and she was able to get the Kid back down the flight of stairs to the ground level.

"The police," Kid panted when they reached the bottom after a few heart-wrenching seconds, trying to take his arm out of her grip.

"Getting arrested is better than getting killed!"

"No, not that." Kid leaned over and started panting more. Aoko could see the large amount of blood staining his leg, just below his knee. She had forced him to walk on it or fall down the stairs and it must have been painful. "We'll lead them right to the police. I don't think you want your father getting killed."

"So what should we do?" Aoko asked, removing her eyes from the wound to his face, where she could see he was sweating but nothing more than that. The hat did its job of not only hiding his eyes but any facial expression.

"We go the other direction. It loops around to the entrance but we'll have to find a widow before then and get out." Kid tried to walk down the hallway but he quickly collapsed again.

"Can you make it?"

"I'll be fine."

Aoko held out her hand and Kid used it to get back to his feet. They walked quickly down the hallway before having to stop after only ten meters, Kid leaning heavily against the wall and breathing as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the world to sustain him.

"Let me help you."

"No," Kid panted, looking down and trying to suppress the pain and control his breathing. "It's my fault. I'll be fine."

"Stop trying to act so self-righteous and let me help you! If you don't, those men are going to find us before we can lead them away and what good will your pride be then!"

Kid couldn't fight her on it and let her put one of his arms around her neck.

"It was never about pride," he whispered.

Walking as quickly as she could while Kid held onto her and limped, she could feel how slight his body was. Under his costume he had no disguise and she couldn't believe how little there seemed to be of him. She'd always imaged the man was like her father.

"Hey, how old are you?" Aoko asked out of curiosity.

"Now's not the best time." Kid laughed. "And I told you I would keep my secrets until this is over."

"It will be over if they find us."

Kid was silent as she followed the path, straight to where the police were. She could hear the sounds of footsteps behind them and realized the Kid's bleeding was leading them right for them.

"It's a good thing," Kid panted, seeing her look at the trail they were leaving. "It means they'll follow us and not run into the police."

Aoko nodded but it didn't feel comforting. Even if they escaped through one of the windows, there would be nothing to stop those men from following them and killing them. At least if they'd led them to the police they'd have some line of defense.

They came to a room with a large window near the entrance. Ahead Aoko could hear the sound of the officers still in a frantic search of any clues they could find.

Kid pulled something out of his coat that looked familiar but the object was moved out of her vision in the next instant as Kid pushed her towards the noise of the police.

"Go now! I'll lead them away!"

The thief used the object he took out of his coat to smash the window. The glass rained down around him like the glittering stars of his magic trick a few nights ago. The noise wouldn't go unnoticed.

"I can't just leave you! You can't even walk!"

"I'll be fine. When your life depends on it, you find that you can do a lot of things you shouldn't be able to." The Kid took time to smile at her as he waited for Aoko to depart. She felt her heart betray her again as she came to notice that the thief was waiting to make sure that she would be safe before leaving.

It was so easy now to see how her mother would feel the need to help him. As confident as he was, the Kid was still going up against not only the police but people who had their hearts set on killing him. To fight a battle like that alone was unthinkable.

"Go… please."

As in control of himself as the thief was, she heard the pleading tone of his voice. That did it. She couldn't leave him.

Aoko made her way over the larger shards of glass to get to him. She could see particles of the shattered window nestled into the folds of his clothing which looked slightly too big on him. As if they were made for a man taller than he was.

Aoko took his hand and put her foot over the threshold from glass to grass, not two inches worth of concrete between the two.

"Come on! Don't just stand there!" Aoko yelled at him, trying to pull him outside with her.

"Nakamori-san, I can't put you in danger."

With a swift tug she was no longer holding him. The thief stared bleakly out at the night around them as if it were the last he would ever see of it. Like last time, the stars were blotted out but the lights of the city.

"Take care of yourself."

With a tip of his hat, the thief ran off back into the museum. The sounds of his footsteps were uneven but she wouldn't be able to catch up to him. Just like that, he was gone.

Aoko was left alone outside with the urge to follow after him, but she was afraid. With her regret and fear tangled up together, she ran into the tree cover. She wouldn't leave but she didn't want to stand there alone and wait and see what would happen to her. Better to be safe. It wasn't like she was listening to the thief's words or anything, it was common sense.

There were a few gunshots after only a minute and Aoko couldn't help clutching her chest as fear over took her. What if it had been her dad? What is Kid had run into them? What if all three of them had met and were trying to kill each other?

It hurt too much to think about so Aoko started singing songs to herself, any that came to mind, to keep herself distracted. By the time she had gotten to the fourth song the sounds of any type of conflict had all died away.

What had happened? Aoko was almost afraid to find out. She stayed where she was, nestled safely under the trees. There wasn't really any protection there if anyone found her and chased her, but she felt safe.

Almost a half-an-hour later a few of her father's officers came to inspect the broken window. No ambulance had arrived so either no one had gotten hurt or no one had found anyone who'd gotten hurt. It meant her dad was safe.

Aoko stayed there as the cop cars slowly started to trickle out after a few hours. It had to be around four in the morning but Aoko didn't feel tired. She slid to the ground near the tree roots and watched the darkness as it unfolded its secrets to her.

The movement off to the side, near the back of the building, should have been unnoticeable, but Aoko was still hyperaware of her surroundings and was able to see the flash of white disappear into the trees further down from her sanctuary.

On numbed legs she got up and rushed after the white glare. It couldn't have been anyone else and she felt her heart ease and sleep start to take hold of her when she knew that he was alright.

As she got closer Aoko watched the thief stumbled over a rather large tree branch.

"Do you know how worried I was? What happened? Is my father all right?"

The Kid jumped back in fright and reached for something in his coat before he recognized Aoko's voice. She wondered what he had reached for. Aoko had never head of Kid brandishing a weapon before.

"Everyone's safe," he reassured her in a husky voice, a reflection of the pain he still had to be feeling. The thief grabbed his side and Aoko saw the blood running down the side of his chest.

"You're hurt," she said numbly. The thief grinned.

"Not that badly."

As if to disprove his words the thief passed out. Aoko watched him fall to the floor, landing in the soft grass with his hat trying to fall off to the side.

It would be so easy to see the man's face but Aoko resisted, pushing the hat back in place and turning the man over so that he was on his back.

Lifting him wasn't easy but it wasn't hard. The white silk of his costume felt nice as she got underneath him and moved the Kid so he wasn't face down in the grass.

Aoko removed all the twigs and brambles for a spot further in the woods where they wouldn't be seen, before dragging him into the relative safety of the forest.

"What an idiot," she told the unconscious criminal. "If you're hurt you should just say so."

Aoko took the bandana material off her face. It wasn't thick but it was long. She hesitated a moment before unbuttoning the thief's coat and then unbuttoning the blue shirt underneath. He felt like starlight under her fingers and she tried not to think about it. He was too old for her anyways, even if he was on the small side.

The wound looked worse than it was. Aoko could see where the bullet had seared away the flesh but hadn't caused any internal damage. She wrapped her bandana around the gash to try and keep it from bleeding.

His leg was next and Aoko tried to ignore how sick all the blood was making her feel. After rolling up his pants to see the wound she had almost decided to stop there. She could see the muscle showing through the hole where the bullet had torn clean through. Having nothing to cover his second wound with, Aoko took her handkerchief to dab the area. There wasn't anything more that she could do.

Getting used to waiting, Aoko left the cloth in place before unrolling his pants. She sat on the grass next to him and was so happy that he was breathing that she didn't even care that she could have gotten her father now, while the thief was unconscious.

It was twenty minutes before the sun rose into the sky and the thief blinked his eyes open. The Kid seemed almost calm when he woke until his brain started to tell him where he was and who he was with. Stiff, sudden movements as he got up too fast prevented him from bolting.

"What's the matter with you? You're hurt! Sit still!"

While it all came back to him, Aoko watched as regret became prevalent on his face. He stared at her as if the worst thing that could have ever happened to him was waking up next to her. It made Aoko mad.

"Well maybe I shouldn't have helped you then if you hate me so much!"

The Kid hadn't said anything but his expression told her how much he didn't want to be there at that moment. His regret turned into confusion.

"Didn't you?– Ah…" The Kid cleared his throat when his voice came out horse. "Didn't you look?"

Aoko blinked at the question, her eyes searching the forest.

"Look at what?"

The Kid burst out into laughter and Aoko blushed, realizing too late what he'd been asking her. As his laughter died down so did her anger, knowing he was laughing out of relief and not because of her stupidity.

"I didn't expect such a kindness from you. Thank you." Kid inclined his head to her and made sure his hat hid his face now that he knew she hadn't seen it.

"I'm not that underhanded," Aoko pouted, turning away. "You said that you would tell me. I can wait."

Kid kept smiling but it was sad. He got up and brushed a few leaves that had fallen onto his clothes, hiding the pain from his leg so completely you couldn't even tell he was injured. He waved a hand to her in farewell, whispering over his should. "You may not like what you find out. The truth hurts more often than not."


	6. The Heartbreak of a Rose

_**Chapter 6: The Heartbreak of a Rose**_

Aoko was at a loss of what to do after that. School was so repetitive and boring. It was so against her nature but at the next Kid heist she had wanted to be there. She knew it was stupid and dangerous, even deadly, but she wanted to be there.

Aoko could lie to herself and say it was because she wanted to make sure her father was okay but that wasn't the case. She knew she cared about what happened to the Kid and she wished that she didn't. Wished she could tear him out of her life. It was like he was a tick, sucking at her blood and draining her energy away from where it needed to be and making her focus on him. If she were to forget everything that happened and get on with her life, she'd be losing a part of herself and she couldn't do that. Not to herself and not to him. It wasn't fair.

So Aoko watched the news the next few heists, heard of gunfire and prayed that everyone was okay, but nothing came of it. There were no dead bodies or mysterious criminals who'd been caught in the area. It was almost as if there wasn't any danger.

_How was he fooling everyone?_ Aoko found herself wondering. Even on the news the gunfire sounded inane, boring, as if it didn't matter that someone out there was trying to kill another person, even if they were a criminal.

She felt worse and worse for her mother now that she had the same connection, the same want to protect a man whose face she didn't even know. Her mother had died doing it. Aoko could see how easy that was to follow in her footsteps.

The only difference was that her mother had known who the Kid was. The thief had told her that they were friends. Her mother had been able to make sure the thief was safe with a simple phone call. Aoko had to sit there and hope, without any tangible notions as to why she cared, why her mother cared. It was something bone deep and, if asked, Aoko would never be able to explain it.

Kaito had been sick from school the week after Aoko had come back from her night out with the Kid. She'd hadn't felt bad about helping the thief this time, because she knew that there were killers out there and that Kid was the only weapon she had to avenge her mother with, but she'd been afraid Kaito would see her hatred for the thief start to die and, with all the anxiety she'd built up only for him not to be there, annoyed her for some reason.

When Kaito did show up for school he looked tired and he wasn't as good during gym class as he normally was which made Aoko wonder why he'd come back if he wasn't feeling well.

Letting things be as they were before she'd found out about her mother, Aoko started to enjoy life like she used to. There were differences now. She didn't feel the same smugness she had when the news told of new criminals that had been caught, didn't feel the need to argue with Kaito during class when he'd bragged about the Kid's achievements stealing a medieval katakana, a glass figurine of a goddess, and two large gems, one sapphire and one an ugly olive green.

Since the Kid hadn't reappeared to her, Aoko figured they weren't what he was looking for.

After so long of waiting and hoping that he was ok, Aoko started to hate him. She wasn't sure where it had come from because the Kid wasn't around to make her angry but she hated him anyway.

She noticed her increasing dislike for him after her father had come home saying that the Kid got away from them with his prize in hand, a large ruby sent in the hilt of a dagger, before it was dropped in the middle of the task force, seemingly out of nowhere after shots had been fired. Her father hadn't been able to catch the gunman but that was nothing new, he told her, he'd been around them before.

Swirling the hate around inside her until she certain it was too much to bear, Aoko decided to go to the Kid's next heist. Hopefully she would be able to sort out her feelings when she was face to face with the man again.

The target tonight was a statue and Aoko knew there would be trouble. There were laurel leaves welded out of metal, set with small diamonds and in the middle of a rose sat a large ruby which gave off a cast of purple in the right light.

The statue was beautiful and could fit in the palm of your hand.

Aoko looked through the glass as it glistened around the room because of all the spotlights there were shining on it. The insatiable urge to sit there and watch the gems shimmer was amazing. Jewelry was never fascinating. Boring flourishes of the rich did nothing but make Aoko angry. This little statue though was something else.

Forced to back away as the police officers took their positions, Aoko watched on with detachment. They were in the house of a wealthy businessman who had only just purchased the rose statue and didn't want to see it stolen.

"What are you doing here?" A fierce voice came from her side. Aoko wasn't used to it anymore and she felt the goose bumps rise on her arms.

"What do you care? I can be wherever I want to be." Aoko crossed her arms and didn't turn around to face him. It was the Kid but he wouldn't look like himself even if she did turn so she saw no point in adding to his ego if she was shocked at his appearance.

"Get out now. You don't know how dangerous it's going to be."

"If it's that dangerous I'm not going to leave my father."

Kid was silent and she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder. "What's the matter with you? Why are you so angry?"

Aoko shuttered at the sudden urge to cry that came over her. "I don't know anything. I don't know if my dad's going to be alive when he comes home anymore. I don't know why I ever helped you. I don't know if these men can ever be stopped. I just don't know."

Aoko felt as the Kid removed his hand. She was sorry to see the contact broken but she wasn't going to let him know that. Her heart sped up when the thief moved so both his hands were on her shoulders.

"I can't answer your questions but I can assure you that you will always have your father. I won't let anything happen to him."

The certainty of his conviction rocked her. Aoko hadn't expected it. She knew the thief was non-violent and knew that, somehow, he cared about what happened to her. But that was because of her mother. Aoko's father did nothing but chase the Kid. She saw no reason he would want to protect the other man so badly.

"And what about you? Will you be alive long enough to give me my answers?" It was hard to say. Aoko knew that this question was what had been bothering her for so long now. The thief's life could so effortlessly be taken away and she would never know until it made the papers. She'd be another Kid fan out on the street, morning him, and yet not being able to show it because of who she was.

"I don't die that easily."

"You almost died before," Aoko whispered. It was a miracle that they'd both gotten away with as little injuries as they had.

"I did not almost die. They were small wounds. I don't mean to imply anything but it was only because I was protecting you that I couldn't get away."

"And what if you're protecting my father next time? You're still going to die." Aoko let a few tears run down her face but she made no sound. Aoko could feel as the thief moved to look around them before she was shocked at his arms looped around her chest, keeping towards her shoulders so the hug wouldn't feel inappropriate.

"I won't die if you don't want me to."

"What's that supposed to mean? You were going to die before?"

The Kid waited while an officer walked by them, seeming not to notice them hunched over together.

"No I wasn't going to die before but I have more incentive not to let it get that far if you don't want me to."

"I don't." Aoko whispered the words, wishing he hadn't made her say them. She felt like a traitor.

"I'm sorry. What is it you want me to do to make you feel better? I won't let you take over for your mother. She was prepared for the life of a phantom thief, you aren't. I don't know what more I can give you than the answers you already have."

"You're going to be late," Aoko told him.

Kid withdrew his arms and put a distance between them. "You're right, I am. Is this conversation over then?"

"Yes," Aoko whispered.

Kid seemed sad but Aoko didn't let him get to her. He was right. There was nothing more that could be done. Aoko would have to sit there and wait for him in the hopes that he would make it out alive every time. She didn't know how long she could do it but she was prepared.

"We'll talk again after," Aoko told him. She'd be ready then. She'd wait and then, when she understood everything, she could finally get on with her life.

When she turned around Kid was gone. Even if she couldn't be by the thief's side like her mother had been, she could be there in spirit.

He waited only a minute before reappearing. There were several flashes of light and explosions from the corners of the large meeting room they were in. It scared her. Aoko watched on as the Kid prepared something different than his usually heists.

The thief glided into the room from a high balcony window, somehow hitting the ground from that height with little effort and no injury.

When he landed firecrackers were set off. The police were scrambling as curtains were set on fire and the glass that contained the statue shattered without being touched. Kid flitted across the room before snatching it up. Aoko looked at him to make sure it was the same thief who she had met that night, and a grin in her direction was all that was necessary to tell her it was.

"Kid, what the hell do you think you're doing!" Aoko's dad shouted at the man. "What's with all the fire!"

"Get out now Inspector and I won't set anymore." Kid snapped his fingers and the dining room table was suddenly alit, greedy flames licking across its surface. "If you don't leave now I'll make sure the whole place burns to the ground."

"Damn you!" Her father shouted. Ginzo was a good man and not about to let his officers get hurt. He felt conflicted when there was actual danger involved in a heist and even more confused than he was that Kaitou Kid was the one causing it. "Men get out of the house now!"

The officers all fled, some looking back, feeling the same pang to chase the thief that the Inspector was. Ginzo realized that he would have to leave or his men would never follow his orders. "Kid you bastard! I don't know what the hell you're thinking but you've gone crazy!"

The men all rushed out of the room as the smoke started to block visibility.

"They're all gone," Aoko told the thief, climbing out from where she'd hidden under a side table. It smelled of gasoline and she knew that the Kid was aware of her presence, otherwise she'd be an Aoko barbeque at the moment.

"You should leave too Nakamori-san. It won't be safe."

"But it's safe right now?" Aoko looked around. "When the place is on fire?"

"Yes." The thief's eyes could have been made from steel and Aoko took a moment to notice that, though she could only see one of them, the thief had blue eyes. It could be easy to change that kind of thing with contacts but not when he was prepared to use fire. They'd dry out. Aoko was seeing his real eye color.

"Why are you just standing there? Leave!" Kid's forceful tone almost made her run out of the room without thinking about it. The thief was scaring her.

"I'm not going to leave. That thing you're holding in your hands," Aoko pointed to the statue. "That's what you've been looking for right?"

"Yes," Kid growled. "I'm sure of it, just as they are. Leave now before they come!"

But it was too late. Doors were being thrown open and men were rushing it towards the fire. It was too early for firefighters and something told Aoko that they wouldn't be coming anyway.

"Toichi, give it to me now!" The man in black growled.

Aoko couldn't hold in a sudden intake of breath and started choking on the smoke that was filling the room. "What?" She got out.

Kid looked over at her and put a finger up to his lips. "I'm not but don't tell him that."

The thief had drawn in close to her so that he could protect her and Aoko read the truth in his voice. "Why does the think you're Toichi-ojisan?"

"I can't explain that to you now," the Kid coughed and pushed her behind him. "It's almost over. You'll get your answers."

Aoko used both hands and clenched the Kid's cape in her fists. "Then you have to make sure that both of us get out alive."

The thief grinned at her. "That's what I was planning to do."


	7. Under Moonlight and Magic

Ok, last chapter!

Please review and tell me if you liked it!

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Under Moonlight and Magic**_

"Ok I've dealt with your father and his men. Let's see what I can do about these goons." Kid took Aoko's hand and she wasn't on the ground anymore, she was sailing up into the window that he had reentered in from.

There were bullets surrounding them but none seemed to touch them. It was either a small miracle or the Kid was really magic. With his hand wrapped around her and the feel of his body against hers, Aoko could believe it.

Once at the widow the Kid jumped and Aoko's blush of embarrassment at thinking something of that nature about an older man was replaced by fear as she was suddenly falling.

Before they hit the ground the Kid deployed his hang glider. He was holding on to her so tightly that Aoko almost couldn't breath. The gunfire continued as the men made their way out of the house to chase the two of them.

Kid suddenly retracted the glider and they were falling again. The thief let go of her before they landed on top of one another and Aoko saw him roll, coming up with the statue in his hand that seemed to glow even redder in the moonlight.

"Snake! Come get me!" Kaitou Kid taunted the man, more bullets flying towards him while Aoko remained safe a few meters away.

_Stop!_ Aoko wanted to yell to him. They were going to kill him and Aoko knew that the Kid had nothing to protect himself with but a few smoke bombs and maybe some left over fire crackers.

The man in black walked up to the thief, confidence radiating off of him. "Hand it over and the girl doesn't get hurt."

"But you wanted to kill me Snake. After all, you did fail all those years ago. You must not be as good of a marksman as you claim to be." The Kid took his gloved hand and pointed to his chest with a hug grin on face. "You can't even kill a man."

Oh Kami Aoko was scared now. The Kid had told them to kill him. He was going to die right in from of her.

"You're right. I'm going to kill you anyway, let's make sure the girl's here to see it."

The man raised his gun and Aoko couldn't look away. The Kid stood perfectly still with his hands at his side, waiting for the man to murder him with the damn smile on his face.

She wanted to close her eyes so badly but she couldn't. If the thief was going to die because he couldn't get away with her weighing him down, because that was the only reason that Aoko could think of as to why he hadn't kept going, then she had to watch. Someone had to and the man in black certainly wasn't going to care that the thief had died.

"Goodbye Toichi. You better stay dead this time."

Aoko didn't have enough time to think about what the man had said before he fired his gun.

Aoko couldn't help blinking, the noise did it. She looked over, expecting to see the thief dead.

There were tears in her eyes and blood staining his white costume.

_Oh no,_ Aoko thought desperately. _It's all my fault._

"What the hell?" The man in black yelled. Aoko didn't look back to watch him, she was too busy noticing that the Kid wasn't falling over from what must have been a fatal shot.

"You're aim's as good as ever Snake," the thief said in a remarkably even voice. "You were aiming right for my heart."

"How dare you!" The gunman took up aim again and fired. Aoko blinked but was watching this time as the Kid brought up the rose statue to block the shots, hearing the ding as the bullet hit the metal, a few of the diamonds shattered.

Then the thief was running and grabbing Aoko by the arm as the man and his followers gave chase.

"That was fun!" the thief grinned at her. "I didn't expect it to get all over me though. It's not like the comet was here so I should be safe from its effects."

"What are you talking about!" Aoko was hysterical, trying to figure out what had happened. "You're hurt!"

Kid looked at her and grinned wider. "No I'm not. When the bullet shattered the ruby it spilled something all over me. This isn't blood." The Kid picked his coat off of his body and looked down at his ruined outfit. "I don't know what this is but I hope it doesn't stain."

Aoko watched him as they ran. The smile across his face seemed happier than she had ever seen it. She watched his footsteps, his movement, and his pants of breath to make sure he wasn't lying to her.

How could a ruby bleed after all? It didn't make sense. But the Kid seemed okay and the men behind them were still chasing them.

Once they broke out of the forest the Kid spun her around in a circle while he laughed before taking off in whatever direction they ended up facing. He was laughing through it all and Aoko had to wonder if he'd gone crazy.

There were apartment complexes first. They ran through the back alleys and the Kid pulled a metal gate from a back yard open before pushing her inside and following. Aoko felt awkward again as they walked into a stranger's back yard, hoping that no one would see them together.

The Kid collapsed onto the ground and continued to laugh, keeping it quiet in case they were still being followed.

"Wow that was awesome!" The thief put his hands up over his head and interlocked his fingers. "I wasn't sure Snake was really going to shoot me. If I knew diamonds could be broken I thought he knew it as well." The Kid sighed, whispering in a contented voice, "It's over."

"I am so beyond confused and you better start explaining right this second or I'm going to go out there and -" Aoko couldn't say she was going to get the police since the man would vanish by the time they arrived, meaning she had nothing to threaten him with.

"I think you're owed that much." The Kid moved to sit up in the grass, still smiling like a maniac. "First things first, I owe you an apology. I've been lying to you."

"What else is new?" Aoko asked resentfully.

"Yes, it's nothing new. I've been lying to you for a while now. I'm sorry but I had to. To be quite honest I never met your mother, or if I did, I don't remember it."

"What?" Aoko could feel despair rush over her. What had she gone through all that for then? How could he have lied about something like that?

The Kid kept his head down but he must have guessed what she was feeling. "The Kid and your mother _had_ been working together but that wasn't me. Just as she was killed off so was-" The Kid hesitated now.

"So was what? You? You seem pretty alive to me." Aoko's words came out broken.

"I've only been the Kid for a year so you see how that's impossible." The Kid looked up and grinned at her. "I'm version two, just like you are."

"You're not the real Kid?" She was confused now.

"I am. I'm just not the first one. There have been two of us and only two." The Kid held up two fingers with his gloved hand, happiness so great that he didn't seem to care what he told her. Aoko could get the truth about everything now.

"So who was the first one?"

"A friend of your mother. I wasn't there to met her, like I said, or I have no memories of it."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Ah, we have a smart one here. I thought you would have already guessed at who it was, what with Snake and his loud mouth."

"Toichi-ojisan?"

The Kid's acknowledgement to her question was to keep grinning before nodding to her as if it were a good thing. Aoko was crying.

She crouched down in the grass while her mind took control and tried to mechanically sort through everything. It was so wrong. Her mother and Kaito's father. Looking back, they had been friends. Aoko knew that her dad had grown up with Toichi and her mother so they would have known each other for years.

But it was so stupid. Kaito's father had always been a good friend to her father but now she was finding out that he was just messing around with him? And her mother had been doing the same thing? Had her father even had a real friend in either of them?

"Damn it."

Aoko looked up to see the Kid trying to wipe off the red liquid that had apparently come from the stone. It had gone through his coat, which was now lying in a heap next to him, and stained his arm red under his sleeve. The color didn't seem to be coming off.

"Maybe if I shower." The Kid studied his red skin and laughed. "That would really suck if it stayed like that."

Aoko took time to notice that he sounded different. His voice still held the same pitch between laugher and seriousness but his words were less thought out, less formal.

"So who are you?"

The Kid stopped his messing around and looked up at her. "Before I tell you that I think you should calm down a little. I don't want you hitting me _too_ hard."

"Why would I hit you? I'm sure you could get away, even if I tried."

"Oh, I'm sure you're going to hit me. I've been lying to you," The Kid shrugged, "I'm sure I'd probably let you hit me."

"How masochistic of you."

The Kid laughed again and fell back into the grass. "So, besides who I am, is there anything you wanted to know?"

"Yes." Aoko looked down at what was left of the metal statue. The rose was completely gone and the framework was destroyed where the bullets had hit it. The lesser diamonds in the leaves were in pieces. "What was so important about that stupid thing?"

"Oh that?" Kid lifted his head to look at the carcass of the once beautiful piece of artwork. "The bad guys wanted to get their hands on it because they thought it would make them immortal. Stupid I know, but they were willing to kill for it so Kid decided that he was willing to die for it. He did."

"Did you know Toichi-ojisan?" Aoko inquired, hearing the slight regret that had crept into the thief's voice.

"Better than anyone." The Kid closed his eyes and opened them again to look at the stars. "At least I like to think so. I'm sure there are people out there, like your mother, who knew him longer than I did."

"Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't know my mother?"

Kid blinked and looked at her. "I thought it would be better if you didn't know how I found out about her. Claiming I knew her seemed like the easiest way to get the information to you."

Aoko didn't ask any more questions. She watched the man who was so very unlike her father and unlike anyone she had ever seen, lay and watch the stars with such a tranquil expression that it calmed her as well.

With the coat off he was now wearing only the blue silk shirt and pants, along with top hat which was the only thing keeping his identity from her. The red stains that covered the shirt didn't hide the fact that he matched the night sky. He was almost beautiful laying there and Aoko felt herself hurt when she thought about it. This man had lied to her and she had bought it. She knew why now but it still hurt.

"Naka- hm. If you want to know who I am you simply have to put the pieces together that I've already given you." The thief held up his fingers. "I'm version two, remember?"

Aoko nodded.

"Just – like – you."

"You're just like me? Well my mother was a thief, which meant that your mother would be one, but Kid was Toi-" Aoko cut herself off and her eyes grew wide. Kid grinned at her.

"Oh no you are not!" Aoko grabbed his hat off and watch as he continued to grin at her as Kaito.

"You jerk!" She threw the hat back in his face and kicked him in the side before storming off.

"Ow! Hey Aoko, wait! Ah, I told you that you were gonna to hit me." Kaito reached her as she got to the gate and wouldn't let her go.

"Kaito keep your hands off! I can't believe you put me through all of that!"

"And if I told you who I was from the start you wouldn't have stopped me?"

Aoko tried to get out of his hold but it was impossible. Kaito, though slim, was stronger than he looked.

"Of course I would have stopped you! How could you do this to me! To us! My dad is going to be so mad when he finds out!"

"Only if you tell him," Kaito whispered.

"You think I can keep quiet about this? You must be insane!"

"I wouldn't doubt it. But if I'm insane then so are you. I followed my father just as you were trying to follow your mother. I don't see much difference between the two of us."

"Kaito," Aoko let some of her tears fall onto his arms since she was unable to wipe them away. "There's a big difference. I'm your friend. You could have told me."

"You didn't seem to want to tell me about your mother when you didn't know that I was Kid."

Aoko's eyes widened again. She hadn't even realized that she'd been keeping Kaito in the dark, or she thought she had been. Aoko had been afraid that he would make fun of her, or use it against her. Telling Kaito would have been like giving away her mother's, and by default Aoko's secrets and she hadn't been able to do it.

"Do you see where I'm coming from? Do you see why I couldn't tell you?" Kaito let her go and Aoko stayed where she stood. "You can do whatever you want. If you'd like to tell your dad still, I'm fine with it. I did break that statue after all."

Aoko let out a breath. "Is it over?"

She didn't look back but she heard Kaito fidget. "If you want it to be. I still haven't gotten Snake yet."

"I don't want you in danger anymore. I don't want to be in danger. I want it to be over."

Kaito came up next to her and smiled. "Then it's over. Snake's not going to have a gem to go after anymore and if he keeps up his work the police will find him. This doesn't have to be our problem anymore. The gem is gone and whoever could have gotten between the man and the ruby are now safe."

"Good." Aoko smiled back but it was tired. "Kaito, I'm sorry. I know I've been being selfish but I wish you could have trusted me."

"But I did trust you," Kaito frowned. "Aoko I went into your house. As KID. You know how easily you could have handed me over to your father then? I would have stayed."

"Why?"

"Because." Kaito took one of his shoes and scraped it against the pavement. "You would have been mad if I didn't listen to you. I mean, it's not like you're not mad at me all the time but I-" Kaito shut up and blushed. "I guess its cause I kinda like you and didn't want you to be mad anymore."

Aoko smiled, feeling the tension drain out of her. She grabbed Kaito's gloved hand in hers.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm not going to tell my dad either." Aoko pouted. "You should be grateful."

Kaito laughed. "I am! I am! So, now that there's no more Kaitou Kid, life's going to be pretty boring."

"I guess you hear when people are doing bad things then. It seems that Kid was doing good every now and then. Did you get bored of looking for that gem?" Aoko inclined her head backwards.

"Hey! I couldn't just ignore some of those things! I mean, you had people lying to the public and scamming people." Kaito crossed his arms in anger. "They deserved to be found out."

"Then maybe Kaitou Kid doesn't have to leave all together." Aoko grinned at him, shocking the magician as she mirrored his own smile. "But you've got to promise to take me with you."

Kaito grinned back and interlocked is fingers with hers.

"Promise."


End file.
